A positive learning environment is one that
encourages learners to achieve their potential, identifies and accommodates
their individual needs and learning preferences, and deals sensitively with issues
that arise within groups in the most
effective and productive manner. A safe learning environment encourages
questioning and sees “failure” as an opportunity to learn. Creating a positive
learning environment affects many factors including the
physical environment, temperature, colorful decorations, planning, students’
work on the walls etc.
Importance of having positive learning environment
Creating a positive learning environment in your classroom will
allow your students to feel comfortable, safe and engaged – something that all
students deserve. In a classroom where values and roles remain constant and
focus is placed on the positive aspects of learning, students will be more open
to actively participating in class (footprintsrecruiting, 2001).
If they are given the opportunity to become responsible for their
own learning, students will be more likely to benefit from the lesson, and thus
more likely to be self-motivated. This should be a primary goal for all
teachers, since lack of motivation is often the root of disciplinary issues
(footprintsrecruiting, 2001).
One of the most important areas that
have to be taken account when we talk about positive learning environment is
classroom management. Classroom management is the term educators use to
describe methods of preventing misbehavior and dealing with it if it arises. In
other words, it is the techniques teachers use to maintain control in the
classroom. Classroom management is one of the most feared parts of teaching for
new teachers. For the students, lack of effective classroom management can mean
that learning is reduced in the classroom. For the teacher, it can cause
unhappiness and stress and eventually lead to individuals leaving the teaching
profession (Mellisa Kelly, 2013). Motivated,
engaged, challenged, and successful students are well behaved, not because
they’ve been threatened but because they are too busy engaged in learning to
misbehave. The goal of classroom management is not quiet classrooms, it’s
productive students. The goals of classroom management are elaborated as below.
(a) To create and
maintain a positive, productive learning environment.
This goal is not meant for absolute control or to create an inert,
docile, and totally compliant classroom and student body. Rather, an effective
classroom management is to maintain students’ interest, motivation and
involvement. Thus, the focus is on activities that create positive, productive
and facilitative learning environment (asiauniversity, n.d).
Another goal of classroom management is to support and foster a
safe classroom community. It means that students are allowed to make the
connections needed for learning to take place. Each student needs to feel
comfortable enough to discuss their previous understanding without fear of
being ridiculed for their misconceptions. In order to make the students
comfortable enough to take these intellectual risks, it is necessary to set up
the rules and routines which:
- The rules and routines will give them a structure in which to interact with the teacher and each other.
- The rules and routines need to be necessary, fair and specific if the students are to be expected to follow them.
- Each rule or routine should come with a verbal or written description of why the rule is needed. If the rule is too vague on its own, examples should be given (asiauniversity, n.d).
Disruptive behaviour is the behaviour that is problematic or
inappropriate in the context of a given activity or for a certain teacher. It is also called as problematic behaviour, such
daydreaming, drowsiness, wriggling, mild interruptions, unnecessary and
excessive movement, or those that disrupt the flow of activity for the whole
group such as calling out, arguing, shouting, swearing, fighting and so on.
According to my experience, this was one of the challenges that teachers are
facing when talk about classroom management. Dealing with misbehavior. If
teachers are successful enough to deal with these types of students 50% of the
classroom management is done. I believe that there will not be a fixed
procedure that can be applied to all misbehaving students. It may vary
depending on the type of behavior, nature of the students, the consequences of
the behavior, etc. So, as a teacher, its our duty to learn various classroom
management theories and apply those theories most effectively in order to
create positive learning environment in our classrooms.
References
asiauniversity, (n.d). Classroom management. Retrieved 10th
May 2013, from http://www.bobbijokenyon.com/crm/AEU_classroom_management.pdf
footprintsrecruiting, (2001). Create a Positive Learning
Environment. Retrieved 8th
May 2013, from http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/for-teachers/teachers-playground/tips-for-teachers/564-create-a-positive-learning-environment
Mellisa Kelly, (2013). Definition of
Classroom Management. Retrieved 8th May 2013, from http://712educators.about.com/od/classroomhelpers/g/Definition-Of-Classroom-Management.htm